My mind was blown while trolling a Trump supporter yesterday.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

There's a part-time janitor at my workplace who constantly praises Trump and denounces Democrats. It's not his only job. He's also a supervisor at a different factory, earning extra money with some basic janitorial duties at my workplace. He's made it clear in the past that he regularly watches FOX News.

I rarely discuss politics openly with anyone at a job, and I'll usually let people spout their political beliefs without saying a word about it. I'm usually so busy at work that I don't have time to discuss politics anyway, and I can easily excuse myself to collect samples for quality control measurements when it's brought up.

In his case, however, I finally decided a few weeks ago to have some "fun" and mock his Trump-supporting commentary with even more extreme ones. I even gave my voice a Southern accent when I did it to sound more like him. (Nobody else is inside the QC lab when I conduct these little social experiments on him.)

For example, a few weeks ago, I said something like, "What the hell do the Democrats want?! Trump already SAID he didn't do anything wrong!" He replied, "Exactly! They just hate him because he's trying to HELP Americans!"

Fast forward to yesterday...

He walked into the lab, started emptying trash cans, and then asked me if I saw the Democratic debates. Before I could reply, "No, but I saw some highlights", he then said, "I guess they all made damn fools of themselves, as usual! Ha ha!"

So I adopted his accent and said, "Yeah, and that Elizabeth Warren wouldn't even answer a question about how she wants to raise taxes! She kept saying this stuff about how her plans will lower overall costs, but she refused to admit the truth! She wants to raise the god-dern taxes!"

He laughed and agreed with my troll alter-ego as usual, and made some comments about how she's going to remind everyone of Hillary Clinton, so "nobody" would ever vote for her anyway.

THEN he made some comments which absolutely shocked me: "I think the corporations are turning liberal too. That's what I fear is happening."

Me: "What do you mean?" (Forgetting the accent.)
Him: "There's some new employees at my shop who are making next to nothing. I'm amazed they can survive on their paychecks at all. Some of them have child support taken out too, and that really leaves them poor."
Me (back to being a pretend right-winger): "Well maybe if the corporations didn't have to pay all those god-dern taxes that the liberals want, then they could pay their workers better!"
Him: "Naw, then the executives and the other folks at the top would just keep even more for themselves!"

Good grief! Has FOX News brainwashed him to that extent?! That he actually thinks corporate greed is supported by liberals instead of right-wingers?!

Anyway, yesterday's exchange made me decide to stop trolling the dummy. I'll try to gradually talk some sense into him in the future.

[griloco]

1. I've been having a real problem perhaps your TrumpMark

could help me with. If you don't mind, could you ask him if there's still time to enroll in the fall semester at Trump U?

[Scarsdale]

2. Also, where can I

order tRump steaks? tRump water? How does he know US wine is superior to French wine, when he claims to be a non drinker? Does he visit his old pal Epstein in prison?

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

16. Don't forget to fly Trump Shuttle airline on your next trip.

It was the only airline which guaranteed every airplane had two right wings.


(actual photo)

[geardaddy]

18. Ha!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

28. 😵 what in the actual fuck?

🤣

[lunatica]

35. Known as the face plant landing.

[Locrian]

3. Translation

"I think the corporations are turning liberal too. That's what I fear is happening."
Translation: liberals take money from me (and people like me) and either keep it or give it to "those" people. And they support that "libural" culture (Nike, Gillette, etc) that "caters" to "those" people.

"Naw, then the executives and the other folks at the top would just keep even more for themselves!"
Translation: liberals take money from me (and people like me) and either keep it or give it to "those" people.

It's a pretty simple mindset: what's in it for me, identity wise? The gop may be the ones squeezing every last penny out of their lives, but they *say* they are behind these guys all the way.

Facts don't matter - they just don't want to identify that they are actually better off as part of the "libural" groups.

[ms liberty]

4. So amusing, you "put on" a southern accent

Meaning you aren't southern, but you mocked southerners. Probably really badly. As a southerner, I can just imagine how cute it was...oh wait...no, I've seen this before in real life and it's not cute at all, it's actually pretty insulting but I'm sure you think it's okay, since it was just people from the south you were making fun of? And no one else is in the lab when you make fun of him to his face so that makes it okay too? Oh no, it's a "social experiment" not mockery for your own personal amusement? And after all, he's a Republican! Well then, that's different!

If you discussed politics with this guy as part of an honest convo I would commend you for making the effort. But what you've described is not that, what you've described is you getting some cheap thrills by making fun of someone, but it was "a dummy" with an accent so it's alright.

We're democrats, we're supposed to be better than that. We punch up, not down.

He might be a dummy and a Trumpet, but your story does not make you look anything but an ugly jerk. I'm guessing you're probably not though, are you? So, you have the opportunity to redeem yourself from your ugly behavior by making the honest effort you describe in your last paragraph, and actually having discussions with the guy.

But lose the fake accent. You may think he doesn't hear you insulting him with it, but he almost certainly does.

[DiverDave]

5. Seriously?

Are you so fragile?

[Mariana]

7. Southern Trump supporters are victims and need defending, I guess.

I have a strong suspicion that if the OP had written, "I even gave my voice a Boston accent when I did it to sound more like him," the poster wouldn't have anything to say about it.

[Ms. Toad]

10. You would be wrong.

I found the fake accent-as-insult offensive, and would have found it just as offensive had it been a Boston accent.

[lame54]

17. Y'all need to hold your chowda

[Ms. Toad]

9. Thank you.

I had the same reaction.

[charlyvi]

11. Me too.

Ridiculing people for fun, then bragging about it, is not okay.

[COL Mustard]

41. I Agree...

Not cool. There’s plenty to dislike about Trump and his minions but there are other ways to do it.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

12. Sorry if that offended you.

My parents were from Kentucky, just like that guy. Imitating that accent isn't hard for me.

He seemed to always love it when I'd do it, especially when I acted so angry at the liberals. The more outraged that I pretended to be, the more he enjoyed it. I'm sure it's the anger exuded by many right-wing propagandists that helped draw him to them in the first place.

I'm going to stop doing it, but the guy was basically begging to be insulted anyway. I'd been silently hearing his pro-Trump and anti-Democrat horseshit for months. Those are usually the first words out of his mouth. He does the same thing to pretty much anyone he encounters at my workplace, and many people don't like it. He is absolutely OBSESSED with it, like it's a religion for him.

[ConnorMarc]

26. He sounds like he DESERVES ridicule

You're doing the right thing.

I think it's futile to try to talk sense to him though.

I wouldn't recommend that.

At some point, however, you should let him know you were just letting him on and burst his stupid far rightwing bubble.

[Locrian]

30. I think there's a difference between mocking and pacing...

Pacing is a technique to help change minds and can involve adopting speech etc of the other party. Not to "mock" but to bond - as humans it's pretty easy to spot the difference. Which is to say that yes, it CAN definitely be used as an insult but I don't think so in this case.

http://changingminds.org/techniques/general/sequential/pace_lead.htm

* Mirroring: Direct copying of their actions.
* Matching: Indirect copying of actions.
* Paraphrasing: Rephrasing in your own words.
* Parroting: Simple repetition of what they say.
* Agreeing: Showing you think similarly.
* Similarity: Showing how you are alike in some way.
* Truth: Stating what is unarguably true now.


The idea of pacing before leading is that if you try to persuade without them feeling alignment with you, you will likely cause resistance or objection. While pacing is not necessarily enough to ensure persuasion, without it the chance of success may be reduced. While pacing may be achieved by copying the target person in some way, this should be done carefully as it is easy for this approach to seem obvious and hence create even more resistance. Sometimes just finding agreement is a good way of pacing the person.

One of the traps here is to try to lead them before they feel aligned with you. Pacing may require a significant effort before they feel they can trust you sufficiently to follow you. Even if they like you, they may still be cautious about you taking the lead. Preferences around this may vary with the person and with how big a change you want them to make.

[lunatica]

36. Funny how people get offended by just about everything

The only part of your story they hear is the accent part and nothing else. Projection.

[Aristus]

14. I confess I do it, too.

I'm Texan, born and raised. My entire family is from the South. Every ancestor of mine who fought in the Civil War fought for the Confederacy.

Every time I mock a Trumpanzee, I exaggerate my Texas accent, (which diminished quite a bit through decades living in the Pcific Northwest) and goober it up a little.

I know we're supposed to recognize that Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania went for Trump.

But my thing is: why is the entire South a solid, unbroken band of red?

I don't mind mocking them a bit.

[Skittles]

19. "goober it up"

I can do a perfect southern accent, just from living there so long

[keithbvadu2]

27. Mocking can be overlooked.

Trump called Sessions a 'dumb southerner' and they love him.

[Aristus]

31. Exactly.

Call them every filthy name in the book, and they will laugh and shrug it off. They may even adopt them as badges of honor.

But take away their free labor force, and they go berserk...

[warmfeet]

23. Indeed.

No southerner has ever mocked the accents associated with the people living in the northern part of the United States. Southerners never mock, or jest, regarding people living in the north.

Just Outrageous!

Oh yeah, give me a break.

[Raine]

38. Agree

it's one thing trolling the guy on his political stands but really really low and not the least bit funny mocking his accent.

[homegirl]

40. When it comes to accents

try being from NYC. Even thought I do not have an accent, not true I am often described as having a mid Atlantic accent, as in the Atlantic Ocean. As soon as I say i was born in NYC I get a comment or accented remark! Go figure.

[uponit7771]

6. Most died in the wool right wingers are single sourced information and don't know better

[rickford66]

24. Like died in the wool ?

[lunatica]

37. Some people just fall into the wool and die.

Hey, it happens.

[COL Mustard]

42. Good One!!!

👍

[CRK7376]

8. I don't mind trolling the Repubs or better yet having frank discussions with them

but draw the line at the fake Southern drawal/accent....Just as I'm sure Yankees, Germans, Asians don't appreciate having their vocal patterns made fun of....

[Buckeye_Democrat]

13. I forgot to mention...

... an important part of his commentary from yesterday.

After saying that the corporations would just keep more for themselves if they received a tax cut, he mentioned the examples of executives from banks and other businesses who received big bonuses after "Obama bailed them out with our tax dollars."

So that was obviously something that stuck in his craw.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

29. Yeah, and his one source of info reinforces that idea.

The right wing echo chamber wants dummasses.

[czarjak]

15. Talking sense to a Trumpbilly?

Good luck, you’d be the first.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

20. You sound fun.

[marble falls]

21. You can't rinse the dense out. Trump is a friend of corporations does that make Donnie Two Scoops ..

a librul???? Hell, he even heads several corporations!

[Blue_true]

22. What shocked you? The Alt-right absolutely loaths corporations.

They believe all corporations are part of the deep state.

[MurrayDelph]

25. For years, Republicans have tried to apply

the reflexive property to Liberals:

If (as they presume) Liberals are bad, then anything bad must be because of Liberals.

[Perseus]

32. I find that it is more effective to use their same talking points to make them think

Here is what I did with a woman co-worker a while ago.

She started going at it how great republicans are and how bad Democrats are, and how wrong I was to be supporting Democrats, so I decided to use their beliefs to make her think.

I said to her:
You know what? I truly admire you and any woman who votes republican.
She smiled and asked, why?
I said:
Because women like you know your place in society, for example, you understand and accept that women should not earn the same as men, even when they do the same job as men. Republican women understand they need to serve their men, even when you work out of the house as well. Republican women understand their job is to raise kids, and stay home to do you work for the home and the kids. Republican women understand that their men need time of their own outside the house, whether to play Golf, Tennis, be with the boys, and if they get drunk, the woman should help them out in their indiscretions. Republican women also understand that their men may need to have some time where they can try, maybe other women, and republican women must learn to turn their heads the other way. And as important, republican women understand that politicians are better at deciding what women should do with their own bodies, even more than their doctors, or even women themselves. I love the fact that republican women learn, above all, to be obedient to their men.

She didn't say anything, she just looked at me and walked away. We have not spoken about politics since, but I know I made her think hard.

[ConnorMarc]

33. This was powerful

I need to remember this.

[diva77]

39. Brilliant!!!

[lunatica]

34. Let him find out the truth all by his lil ignorant self.

He’ll learn it better if it hurts a little. Just like the rest of us.

Point in question, did you have to be weened to think for yourself?